Previous owner of RX8 won't give me the title

[AlabamaCorpsman]

I just bought a 2005 Mazda RX8 6 months ago from a private party. The owner assured me that the car was in good working condition and just recently had a new engine put in as per Mazda's 100k mile warranty. He informed me that I would have to meet up with him later to recieve the title. After having the car for a little more than a week, I realized the engine had excessive coolant pressure, starting problems (unrelated to Mazda's common "flooding" problem), only a few of the electronics inside of the car actually worked and white smoke poured out of the exhaust when the car was started. The car has 130k miles on it, but when I bought it, I was told the engine only had 30k on it. I called the Mazda dealership and gave them my VIN to see if there was any warranty on the warranty engine. Come to find out, the previous owner never had a new engine put inside of the RX8. I called him to complain, but he did not answer. I did get a text back though saying "What'd you need?". I told him my concerns and he never replied. I then did a further inspection of the car. When purchasing, he pointed out all of the minor dings and knicks. After inspecting, I decided to take off the "Navy Airman" sticker that was located on the back bumper and found a hole 10cm x 20cm that he never mentioned. At this point, I'm furious. I called him and demanded a refund. Of course, he neither answered the phone nor texted back. I then decided I would fix what I could on the car and attempt to sell it for what I could. I realized that it has been 6 months and I still have not recieved the title to the vehicle. Before I realized he ripped me off, everytime I asked him about the title, he always wanted to meet me at inconvinent times while I was at work, but was never available on Saturdays to go with me to the bank to pick up the title. Now he is not contacting me back, regards to the faulty car he sold me or the title. Can I not just sue for the title, but sue to get my money back (the money I paid on parts and the money I took out for the auto loan) and return the car to him? Is there anything else I can sue him for? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Zigner]

If your vehicle is financed, why would you get the title? The finance company would normally hold it.

 

[Antigone*]

I just bought a 2005 Mazda RX8 6 months ago from a private party. The owner assured me that the car was in good working condition and just recently had a new engine put in as per Mazda's 100k mile warranty. He informed me that I would have to meet up with him later to recieve the title. After having the car for a little more than a week, I realized the engine had excessive coolant pressure, starting problems (unrelated to Mazda's common "flooding" problem), only a few of the electronics inside of the car actually worked and white smoke poured out of the exhaust when the car was started. The car has 130k miles on it, but when I bought it, I was told the engine only had 30k on it. I called the Mazda dealership and gave them my VIN to see if there was any warranty on the warranty engine. Come to find out, the previous owner never had a new engine put inside of the RX8. I called him to complain, but he did not answer. I did get a text back though saying "What'd you need?". I told him my concerns and he never replied. I then did a further inspection of the car. When purchasing, he pointed out all of the minor dings and knicks. After inspecting, I decided to take off the "Navy Airman" sticker that was located on the back bumper and found a hole 10cm x 20cm that he never mentioned. At this point, I'm furious. I called him and demanded a refund. Of course, he neither answered the phone nor texted back. I then decided I would fix what I could on the car and attempt to sell it for what I could. I realized that it has been 6 months and I still have not recieved the title to the vehicle. Before I realized he ripped me off, everytime I asked him about the title, he always wanted to meet me at inconvinent times while I was at work, but was never available on Saturdays to go with me to the bank to pick up the title. Now he is not contacting me back, regards to the faulty car he sold me or the title. Can I not just sue for the title, but sue to get my money back (the money I paid on parts and the money I took out for the auto loan) and return the car to him? Is there anything else I can sue him for? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dude, what makes you think you should even have possession of the title if the car is financed. There is no one for you to use. Enjoy your new car.

 

[AlabamaCorpsman]

I'm aware that it is financed, but the bank I financed the car through is a different bank than the one the title is located at. According to my bank, it is MY responsibility to retrieve the title from the previous owner and then hand it over to one of the represenatives at my bank.

 

[Zigner]

That doesn't make sense.

If you borrowed money and used the vehicle as collateral, then the lender will hold the title.

If the title is held at a DIFFERENT bank, then that bank would need to be paid in order to release the title so that the new bank can use the vehicle as collateral.

 

[swalsh411]

What State are you in?

You bought a sports car with 130,000 miles on it with a non-conventional engine and didn't have it inspected? Sounds like you are about to learn a very expensive lesson.

 

[Zigner]

What State are you in?

You bought a sports car with 130,000 miles on it with a non-conventional engine and didn't have it inspected? Sounds like you are about to learn a very expensive lesson.

OP's userid is "AlabamaCorpsman". I assumed s/he's from Alabama

 

[TheGeekess]

OP's userid is "AlabamaCorpsman". I assumed s/he's from Alabama

If OP IS from Bama, he can enjoy his new car. Next time he can remember to get a used car inspected by a trusted mechanic before paying any money for it.